It is known to inflate an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device to help protect a vehicle occupant in the event of a vehicle collision. Examples of inflatable vehicle occupant protection devices include driver and passenger side frontal impact air bags, side impact air bags, and inflatable knee bolsters. Another particular type of inflatable vehicle occupant protection device is an inflatable curtain.
The inflatable curtain is inflatable in response to the occurrence of an event for which inflation of the inflatable curtain is desired, such as a side impact to the vehicle, a vehicle rollover, or both. The inflatable curtain inflates away from a roof of the vehicle between a side structure of the vehicle and a vehicle occupant. A known inflatable curtain is inflated by inflation fluid directed from an inflator to the inflatable curtain via a fill tube.
Inflatable curtains may have a variety of constructions. One particular construction for an inflatable curtain construction is a one piece woven construction. An inflatable curtain having a one piece woven construction includes yarns that are woven to form both (a) overlying woven panels and (b) single layer portions that act as seams to define an inflatable volume of the curtain. The weave density at the seams is typically increased over that of the individual panels because the seams include the yarns of both panels. An inflatable curtain may experience higher stress levels along certain areas of the seams depending on certain factors, such as the location of the seams on the inflatable curtain.